On that April day when the phone rang and his dream came true, Derrick Brooks entered pro football with a prophetic promise.

He thanked Sam Wyche, then coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for making him a 1995 first round draft pick.... as a linebacker.

“I thank God that the Bucs took a chance on me,” Brooks said. “(Wyche) told me (in phone call) I was a day one starter and I needed to prove it.

“I told him, Coach, you will be proud of this decision.”

Twenty years later, look what happened.

In what may be the greatest element of his amazing legacy, Brooks redefined the outside linebacker position. He defied the too short, too thin perception about his ideal NFL placement. He changed that into the Derrick Brooks position.

He proved it all the way into his induction Saturday in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“I totally agree that I opened the doors for a lot of people to play the position very differently than it’s been played in the past,” said Brooks, a Pensacola native, while reflecting on his career earlier this month at Washington High, where he launched his role at linebacker.

“To take the word ‘Tweener’ out of the football vocabulary when it came to strong safety and Will linebackers (weak side linebacker). I smashed it,” said Brooks, whose NFL playing weight finished at 6-foot, 235 pounds. He was much lighter in his earlier years.

Making a name, creating position

Brooks broke through with exclamation. He used his speed, his guile, his tenacity, his instincts, his rare tackling skills to become one of the greatest linebackers in football history.

“He changed the position,” said Josh Sitton, the Green Bay Packers All-Pro guard and Catholic High graduate. “You get those guys who can go stop the run and go cover guys (in pass coverage) and played that Cover 2 defense like (Bucs) did where the linebacker has to go out and cover guys.

“He was one of the early ones able to do that. Now, you see that a lot. You think of (retired Chicago Bears star) Brian Urlacher and guys like that.”

The first time the Sitton played against Brooks, back in 2008 during Sitton’s rookie season with the Packers, he readily admits being star struck.

“I was like a little kid out there,” Sitton said. “I grew up here, I grew up watching him. I grew up looking up to him as a player. So I was excited to just go meet on the field. That was a big moment for me.

“This (Hall of Fame) is unbelievable honor for him. He deserves it. He is one of the best ever. And he's an even better guy. I stay in contact with him. He is one of the great ones on the field and off it.”

When Tony Dungy arrived in Brooks’ second season with Tampa Bay, he helped design the defense and assemble the players that turned the Bucs from woeful to wonderful.

“Derrick Brooks created a new position in the NFL,” said Dungy, speaking with the Tampa Bay media relations staff when Brooks was announced for the Hall of Fame. “He was the prototypical ‘space linebacker’ to counteract the evolving spread offenses of the ‘90’s.

“He could make plays in the running game sideline to sideline, cover tight ends and receivers 20 yards downfield, and cause game-changing turnovers. Today, everybody is looking for a Derrick Brooks but there aren't many to be found.”

Convincing moments

As Brooks recalls, it took some convincing throughout his formative years to break the perception. When he signed with Florida State, the Seminoles’ long time defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews loved Brooks at linebacker, but thought he could be an even better strong safety in college.

He thought that might be his best position for the Seminoles and beyond college football. So he tried Brooks in the defensive backfield.

The experiment was short-lived.

“When he first got to Florida State, Mickey had him backpedaling away from line of scrimmage,” said David Wilson, former Pensacola High coach and member of FSU’s football operations staff during the Brooks’ era.

Wilson is now player personnel director for the Tampa Bay Storm — the Arena Football League team where Brooks serves as team president.

“I can remember Mickey saying... what is wrong here?” said Wilson, chuckling. “I said, Coach he is going the wrong way. He wants to attack forward at the line of scrimmage.”

Andrews kept him at linebacker after that first week of practice in Brooks’ freshman year. He became a two-time All-American, and ACC defensive player of the year in 1993 when he helped FSU win its first national championship.

After his senior season, Brooks spent a week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile telling NFL people he would not consider a move to safety. He was the Senior Bowl MVP that year as a South squad linebacker.

He stayed adamant on being a linebacker in private workouts for NFL teams.

“I refused to work out as a defensive back,” Brooks said. “And some even said at the time that I cost myself going in the top 10 or 15 picks. It didn’t matter. I wanted to play the position I was most comfortable playing and I was out to prove a point in doing it.

“I figured the two times (high school, college) others made the decision, it was on them. But going into the draft it was on me.”

DERRICK BROOKS MILESTONES

• BIRTHDATE: April 18, 1973

• PREP FEATS: USA Today national defensive player of year. Won 1990 Dial Award for nation’s top male-scholar athlete. Parade All-American. Helped Washington High reach Region 5A title game as a junior. Announced he would sign with Florida State during his high school football banquet in January of 1991.

• COLLEGE FEATS: Two-time All-American. ACC defensive player of year in 1993. Two time Lombardi Award Finalist. Four year starter. Three time All-ACC player.

• • DRAFTED: April 22, 1995. No. 28 overall, second of the Tampa Bay Bucs two first round picks that year. The first was Warren Sapp, No. 12 overall.

• NFL: In 1997, helps lead Bucs to first playoff berth in 15 years, including a Wild Card game win against Detroit Lions. Chosen to the first of his 11 Pro Bowl teams. In 2000 was named the Walter Payton Man of the Year for his on field performance and charity endeavors. In 2002, was named NFL defensive player of the year and helped Bucs win their only Super Bowl when returning an interception for a game-sealing touchdown.

• RETIRED: Officially decided after 2009 season, following his release from Bucs in Feb. 25, 2009 and tryout in preseason with New Orleans Saints. Team was unable to come to contract agreement.